Prescribed burns planned at Sabine wildlife refuge

BATON ROUGE (AP) — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel are planning to conduct several prescribed burns on the Sabine
National Wildlife Refuge this month.

Officials say burning could begin as early as Friday, and will take place on multiple days through the end of the month as
weather permits.

Burns are planned for five of Sabine's
western management units located along Sabine Lake and north of Johnson
Bayou. Service
personnel have been working with nearby landowners to ensure that
appropriate fire breaks are in place to make sure that fires
don't escape and burn property that landowners don't want burned.

Prescribed burning is a commonly used habitat management tool used to reduce the potential for catastrophic wildfires, control
invasive species, and restore and revitalize ecosystems.